Hello Readers! We’ve made it to December! And while this year flew by, I’m always happy to arrive at the last month of the year, because it means I finally get to pick up seasonal reads! I’ve finished my ARCs for the year, all my reading challenges, and met my Goodreads goal. It’s nice to have this month with no pressures to read unless I want to, which helps me to reset for a new year. 🙂
Some of these I’ve just discovered and some I’ve been saving up all year!
Let’s see what I’ll be reading!
A Christmas Caroline by Camilla Isley
This is my current read and I’m loving it!
Synopsis:
A modern-day retelling of A Christmas Carol…
Caroline is a cynic career woman living the high life in Manhattan where love and relationships are but a distant memory of the past.
But after a freak accident on Christmas Eve, Caroline receives a visit from a cheeky spirit of Christmas Past, Present, Yet to Come, and—most importantly—Christmas That Could Have Been. When she wakes up on Christmas Day suddenly married with three kids and living two doors down from her parents in New Jersey, Caroline has a chance to experience the life she would’ve had if she’d made a different choice.
Will small-town life as a mother and a wife make her rediscover what’s really important in life?
Goodreads
In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren
This will be a reread for me, but it was one of my favorite ARCs last year. I picked up a physical copy for my own shelf, and it may even become an annual read for me at the holidays!
Synopsis:
One Christmas wish, two brothers, and a lifetime of hope are on the line for hapless Maelyn Jones in In a Holidaze, the quintessential holiday romantic novel by Christina Lauren, the New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners..
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.
But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.
The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.
Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.
Goodreads
Sleigh Bells in the Snow by Sarah Morgan
I have yet to read a book by Sarah Morgan, even though I own two and have several others on my tbr. I’m hoping to change that this month!
Synopsis:
Once upon a time Kayla loved Christmas
Now she’s more dedicated to her job than decking the halls, and can’t wait for the ‘most wonderful time of the year’ to be over.
Until she arrives at the enchanting Snow Crystal ski resort, determined to win gorgeous owner Jackson as a marketing client.
But wooing Jackson professionally quickly turns personal as they spend flirty festive nights in this glittering winter wonderland.
With snowflakes swirling and sleigh bells ringing…could Jackson be the one to make Kayla fall back under the Christmas spell?
Goodreads
Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards
I had every intention of reading this one last winter, but I didn’t get to it. I’m hoping to finally pick it up this month. It would be a fun change of pace from all my holiday romances. 🙂
Synopsis:
A hitched ride home in a snow storm turns sinister when one of the passengers is plotting for the ride to end in disaster.
When Mira flies home to spend Christmas with her mother in Pittsburgh, a record-breaking blizzard results in a cancelled layover. Desperate to get to her grief-ridden mother in the wake of a family death, Mira hitches a ride with a group of friendly college kids who were on her initial flight.
As the drive progresses and weather conditions become more treacherous, Mira realizes that the four other passengers she’s stuck in the car with don’t actually know one another.
Soon, they’re not just dealing with heavy snowfall and ice-slick roads, but the fact that somebody will stop at nothing to ensure their trip ends in a deadly disaster
Goodreads
The Christmas Cabin by Susan Hatler
I recently picked up this ebook for free, and it sounds like the perfect romantic escape for this time of year.
Synopsis:
Harper Avery is a jaded divorce attorney who loves helping her clients move on to better things. After all, they’ve struggled enough being in an unhappy marriage. When one client’s soon-to-be ex-husband suddenly says he wants a second chance with his wife, Harper’s dubious, certain that her client is just going to get hurt again.
Despite his career as a divorce attorney, Gabriel Hart still believes that love can work miracles. Sure, there are no guarantees, but he totally supports his client’s efforts to reconcile with his wife—even if it means Gabriel has to go head-to-head with Harper to keep her from ruining the couple’s chances.
With the holidays approaching, husband and wife set out to see if they can work through their issues, while Harper decides to spend the long Christmas weekend at her friend’s cabin in Lake Tahoe. Only when she gets there, someone is already occupying her last-minute rental—Gabriel Hart. Both refuse to give up their holiday retreat. Will their adversarial working relationship make for a stressful weekend? Or will the magic of Christmas sprinkle them with a love that can beat the odds?
Goodreads
Dear Santa by Nancy Naigle
I recently added this one to my shelf and I’ve seen it recommended around the blogosphere. I’m a sucker for romances that involve letters.
Synopsis:
From USA Today bestselling author Nancy Naigle, Dear Santa is a heartwarming Christmas story about finding your passion for life and love.
Angela Carson wants nothing more than to be the third-generation to run her family’s holiday store, Heart of Christmas, successfully. They’ve weathered over sixty tourist seasons, major hurricanes, and urban sprawl, in their old decommissioned lighthouse. But the national chain that set up shop in their small North Carolina town of Pleasant Sands may be more than Heart of Christmas can survive.
Encouraged by her niece to ask Santa for help, Angela gives in and lets the words fly in a way that, if Santa were real, would no doubt land her on the naughty list. What’s the harm when it’s just a computer-generated response?
Geoff Paisley has been at his mother’s side running the mega-chain Christmas Galore for the last ten years. When his mother falls ill, Geoff promises to answer the town’s Dear Santa letters in her stead. Soon he realizes the woman he’s been corresponding with on Dear Santa is Angela. How could the woman that grates his every last nerve in person have intrigued him so deeply through those letters?
When Geoff reveals that he’s her Dear Santa, will Angela be able to set aside their very public feud to embrace the magic of the holiday and possibly find true love?
Goodreads
One More For Christmas by Sarah Morgan
I won a copy of this in a giveaway and it sounds heartwarming! It seems to have great reviews, too.
Synopsis:
From the USA TODAY bestselling author of The Christmas Sisters comes this sparkling tale of Christmas redemption. Brimming with Sarah Morgan’s trademark festive cheer, you won’t want to miss it!
For sisters Samantha and Ella Mitchell, Christmas is their most precious time of the year—a time for togetherness, love and celebration. Most of all, it’s about making up for everything their childhood Christmases lacked. But this year, they’ll be buying presents for the most unexpected guest of all—their estranged mother. It’s been five years since they last saw each other. But when their mom calls out of the blue and promises that this Christmas will be different, Samantha and Ella cautiously agree to spend it all together…
Gayle Mitchell is at the top of her career, but her success has come at a price—her relationship with her daughters. She never seemed to say or do the right things. Her tough-love approach was designed to make them stronger, but instead managed to push them away…until a brush with her own mortality forces Gayle to make amends. As the snowflakes fall on their first family celebration in years, the Mitchell women must learn that sometimes facing up to the past is all you need to heal your heart…
Goodreads
10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston
I added this ebook back in the summer and I’ve been saving it to read around New Year’s. I’m hoping to get to it in December but I may not get to it until January.
Synopsis:
Sophie wants one thing for Christmas-a little freedom from her overprotective parents. So when they decide to spend Christmas in South Louisiana with her very pregnant older sister, Sophie is looking forward to some much needed private (read: make-out) time with her long-term boyfriend, Griffin. Except it turns out that Griffin wants a little freedom from their relationship. Cue devastation.
Heartbroken, Sophie flees to her grandparents’ house, where the rest of her boisterous extended family is gathered for the holiday. That’s when her nonna devises a (not so) brilliant plan: Over the next ten days, Sophie will be set up on ten different blind dates by different family members. Like her sweet cousin Sara, who sets her up with a hot guy at an exclusive underground party. Or her crazy aunt Patrice, who signs Sophie up for a lead role in a living nativity. With a boy who barely reaches her shoulder. And a screaming baby.
When Griffin turns up unexpectedly and begs for a second chance, Sophie feels more confused than ever. Because maybe, just maybe, she’s started to have feelings for someone else . . . Someone who is definitely not available.
This is going to be the worst Christmas break ever… or is it?
Goodreads
What are you most excited to read this month? Have you read any of these books yet? Let me know in the comments!
It looks like you have a bunch of holiday reads ready to go for the month. How fun!
Yes! Now the question is: will I get to them?? Ha!
That’s always the question, isn’t it?
I am sensing a theme and I LOVE IT! I see 10 Blind Dates which is a favorite of mine. The family is tremendous fun in that book. Hope you enjoy them all.
Haha! I’m all about themes. I’ve heard so many great things about 10 Blind Dates. Super excited to get to that one. But I have already DNF’d The Christmas Cabin. The writing was lacking with that one. And I was invited to read Amor Actually, another Christmas anthology, so my TBR changed the day after I posted this. 🤦♀️😂